The first exposure Italian mandolin virtuoso Carlo Aonzo had to the instrument was as a child when his father would play he and his sister to sleep.
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Now Mr Aonzo, who hails from Savona overlooking the Ligurian Sea in Italy's north, performs and teaches aspiring mandolinists the world over.
He is in Canberra for a week-long mandolin festival hosted by the Federation of Australasian Mandolin Ensembles, where he will work with more than 60 Australian and New Zealand mandolinists.
Mr Aonzo said it was a thrill to see the mandolin increase in popularity since his childhood.
He said unlike the guitar which has three main variants - classical, acoustic and electric - the mandolin is incredibly varied depending from which part of the world it originates.
From the Russian domra to the South American charango, the sound created by these small stringed instruments can take on many different qualities.
He said another difference from its more famous cousin, the guitar, was that the guitar was oriented as an accompanying instrument and could better meld with singing.
The mandolin was more suited to creating a melody and was tuned more similarly to the violin. In fact, he suggested the mandolin was probably invented to have a violin that could be plucked.
The mandolin family also includes the mandola, similar to the viola, mandocello, similar to the cello, and the mandobass, like the double bass.
Playing his Italian mandolin at the festival's launch on Saturday, Mr Aonzo soothed his audience with the lullaby his father had once played him as a child.
The sound was considerably more high pitched than an acoustic guitar and shared some similarity to a banjo, albeit without the harsher, metallic quality associated with the banjo.
Festival music director Col Bernau said the mandolin scene in Canberra was small but is home to two dedicated mandolin orchestras, Capital of Australia Mandolinata or COZMO and Canberra Mandolin Orchestra.
Mr Bernau said in Australia the mandolin had two distinct uses - orchestras and in bluegrass and folk music.
"It's a great sound [the mandolin], and it wasn't too hard to transfer skills from the guitar," Mr Bernau said.
"And it's portable, it fits in overhead compartments in planes."
He said the biggest challenge facing mandolin groups, particularly in Canberra, was attracting a younger generation to pick up the instrument.
COZMO manager Lea O'Brien said events such as the festival were invaluable to mandolinists in Australia as having the exposure to someone like Mr Aonzo brought new knowledge to the region.
In recent years the festival has attracted another world renowned mandolinist, Israeli musician Avi Avital, to Australia.
Ms O'Brien encouraged anyone interested in attending the final concert, which would feature a solo by Mr Aonzo, should book through the Eventbrite page.
